The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1887-07-21
S1lage.

up the matter in earnest. If this is foun(
in England so valuable where grass ant
J coarse weeds is almost their only materia
for putting into slos, what are not oul
chances in the United States when in ad
dition TO such stuffs we have the rich fod
der from Indian corn or maize? Thest
green foods can be stored as cut, whether
in rain or sunshine, without lessening il
any degree their feeding qualities. Ii
| England it has been found that StOcl
| thrive better in winter on grass from
silos than on good hay cured in the
usual manner, and also that stock do wei
even on coarser grasses and young ferns sc
stored, which they would despise to touch
in pasture late in summer or fail. This
applies to all kinds and ages of stock. In
winter and spring cows fed almost entirely
on ensilage made chiefly from Indian corn
give golden edge' butter, nearly as good
as whenfed on summer grasses, and yield
more of it too than On the ordinary feeding
of the farm. Let this TO us comparatively
new idea Of feeding live stock in winter
and spring, on food preserved in silos, be
scientifically and practically examined into,
and it will be found that we can feed more
stock on a given area, and feed them
better and cheaper, than ON the old system
of treatment. The manure also is much
richer from such ensilage food. Ensilage
is no more or less than good and useful
method of preserving fodder in summer
and fall, when there is plenty; for winter
and spring use when there is scarcity.
mers to consider the benefits of construct
ing silos. Fodder cut up into small pieces
Of half inch size, while it entails trouble,
enables food to 60 further and packers
of silos to fill them more easily, but this
is not necessity Of ensilage; it can be
packed as grown, solidly, uncut, and come
out Of the silo in winter and spring as nu-
tritious as if cut up into small parts. In
either case there must be thorough pack
ing, SO as to exclude the air. This can
most conveniently be carried out by the
erection Of say three small silos instead of
one larger one and carrying on the filling of
them by turns. Thus beginning with No.
l silo, fill and tramp each layer well down
until it reaches.say 81 or feet in depth
Then board it all closely over, and weight
it with rocks lightly, say 20 lbs. to square
foot. After this do same with No. 2 silo,
and then repeat the same labor with silo
No 8. BY time silo No has stood four
days begin again to fill it up 81 feet after
same fashion as before described, and do
the same with No. and 3, taking care
that all have some additional layers of fod-
der put on every days until whole silos
are filled between one and two feet above
the line intended for silos to remain when
full.
-Four days after last layer is put on at
top all the silos should be boarded and
cross boarded closely with plank to fit
tightly size Of building. Then they should
be weighted with say one foot of earth all
over. SO as to bring a pressure of from
60 to 70 lbs. per square foot, and at the
same time exclude the air at top. By this
slow process of filling and settling, the
stuff heats and sinks rapidly, thus caus-
ing both better work and a saving Of
trouble in the matter of weighing. In
early days of silos, and where on a few
farms still, ensilage is weighted down to
the extent Of 200 lbs. per square foot, while
if it is we'll and tightly packed as filled, and
slowly, at intervals of few days, go to 70
pounds per square foot will be found suf-
icient pressure in weighing. Whatever
construction of silos is adopted the bottom
and sides must be thoroughly dry. If there
is any chance of water lodging about the
silo a trench or secret tile drain should he
cut all round land at least one foot below the
level of the bottom of silo. A silo may be
made of brick or stone or wood. or a pit
in ground or in form of stack. All have
been found to preserve fodder well. Some
have even made them on surface of land
to depth of several feet on high side #
sloping land, covered over with sodS close
ly set. and then two feet of earth tramped
hard down over all. Some farmers prefer
the ''stack" form, for by this method you
can continue to build until you have ex-
hausted your material OF haye attained the
desired height, and then only one loading
if we'll tramped and slowly and regularly
made, while in all other kinds of silos
some weighing is needful during filling.
if they are not completed at once. 1t is
generally considered by those who have had
some years. experience of silos that no
more than four days should elapse without
putting in some additional fodder into the
silo A good and cheap silo can be made
of inch boards on each side of studding,
with strong paper between and filled in
with saw dust tightly packed between
them to exclude the air. The roof is some
times made of matching or of wooden
boards as is most convenient. A conye-
nient size of silo on small farm would be
I5Xl feet deep OF high. and then rooted,
and say two Or three Of them built touch
ing each other in line.
A good site is on steep bank Of grave
for dryness and economy in filling. A door
(doublelshould be made onroof On high side
of silo for filling, and a double thickness of
door solidlypacked between on low side for
removing the fodder from silo. The low
side should be placed handy to barn for
feeding stock. AT another time a conye
nient form Of silo, showing good way of
economically weighing itdown by long le-
vers may be explained, for the writer de-
sires to see a silo built on every farm and
wants to remove all hindrances to their
adoption.
A ton OF good enslage will feed any Or
binary cow, with little bran sprinkled on
it. for one month. An acre of we'll Guilt
waited corn will yield twenty to twenty-four
tons, and i'll some places more. Assuming
the yield is twenty four tons this will en-
able farmers to feed foar cows for six
months on enc acre OF land. The cost OF
raising itand putting into silo should not
not exceed eighty cents per ton, if not cut
up. Corn can be planted for this as fof
an ordinary corn crop, or Whioh is perhaps
better, it can be sown thick broadcast, say
a bushel to the acre, after thorough cultiva-
tion, manuring, ploughing, narrowing
and rolling the soil. If it plantea broadcast
after thOrouoh onItiyati0n then there is